Topic Contents

PTSD and Depression

Overview

If you have either of
these mental health problems, it is possible you have the other. You may need
to treat both of them.

PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can
occur after you have been through a traumatic event. A traumatic event is
something horrible and scary that you see or that happens to you. During this
type of event, you think that your life or others' lives are in danger.

Anyone who has gone through a life-threatening event can develop PTSD.
These events include:

Combat or terrorist
attacks.

Violent crimes, such as rape, child abuse, or a physical
attack.

Serious accidents, such as a car wreck.

Natural disasters, such as a fire, tornado, flood, or earthquake.

After going through a traumatic event, you may feel upset
by things that remind you of what happened. You may have nightmares, vivid
memories, or flashbacks of the event and feel like it's happening all over
again. You also may avoid situations that remind you of the event, and you may
feel numb or lose interest in things you used to care about.

Depression happens more often than any other medical problem in women who
have PTSD, and it occurs often in men with PTSD.1

Depression

Depression can
make you feel overwhelmed, sad, or hopeless. You may feel like your problems
are piling up, and you can't fix them. These symptoms can last for a long time,
or they might come and go. Being depressed doesn't mean you're weak, and it
doesn't mean you're just feeling sorry for yourself. It is a problem that can
be helped.